WASHINGTON, October 25, 2022 — The ERISA Industry Committee (ERIC) today provided detailed policy recommendations for Congressional negotiators as they finalize a bipartisan package of retirement provisions.
“Policymakers have an opportunity to deliver a win for workers, retirees, and job creators by harmonizing House and Senate bipartisan retirement legislation and passing a comprehensive bill later this year,” said Andy Banducci, Senior Vice President of Retirement and Compensation Policy at ERIC. “These proposals are strong but can be improved by adopting recommendations that ERIC has advanced throughout the legislative process.”
In its letter to members of Congress, ERIC urged that a forthcoming negotiated bill:
- Ease administrative burdens on plan sponsors
- Support increased retirement savings by allowing employers to make “matching contributions” for employee student loan payments
- Facilitate emergency savings for working Americans
- Provide sufficient flexibility and realistic implementation timeframes for new legal requirements
- End unnecessary annual increases in Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation variable-rate premiums
- Create a “Lost and Found Database” for unresponsive plan participants
- Omit a review of pension risk transfer guidance
- Omit new disclosure requirements for lump-sum offers
- Clarify the rules for recoupment of inadvertent retirement plan overpayments to innocent participants
- Update the cap for transferring former employees’ retirement funds to an IRA from $5,000 to $7,000. Enacting this proposal, as included in the SSRA and the RISE & SHINE Act, is a reasonable update that will provide additional flexibility for plans
- Provide additional savings opportunities for retirement, including a later age at which retirees must begin minimum required distributions and higher “catch-up” contribution limits
- Strengthen retiree health care and life insurance benefits by continuing to permit overfunded pension plans to fund them
“We are very encouraged that the House of Representatives passed the Securing a Strong Retirement Act with more than 400 votes in support. We also commend both the U.S. Senate Committee on Finance and the Committee on Health, Education, Labor & Pensions for their bipartisan packages, the Enhancing American Retirement Now Act and the Retirement Improvement and Savings Enhancement to Supplement Healthy Investments for the Nest Egg Act,” Banducci added.